Prenatal parental depression and preterm birth: A national cohort study Liu C, Cnattingius S, Bergström M, Östberg V, Hjern A. Corresponding author: Anders Hjern,

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Clinical Scenario Mental health awareness in pregnancy was emphasised during an obstetrics continual professional development event. The speaker summarised adverse perinatal outcomes that has been linked with maternal depression. A midwife asked, “Does depression in dads have similar impact on these outcomes?”

The Clinical Question Does paternal mental health problem have any impact on the pregnant woman and her unborn child?

Structured Question Participants Singleton births recorded in the Medical Birth Register of Sweden between Intervention Parents with depression Comparison Parents without depression Outcomes Odds ratios (ORs) for very preterm and moderately preterm births Study Design A population-based cohort study

Background How common is paternal depression in the perinatal period? (See JAMA May 19;303(19): )JAMA May 19;303(19):

Inclusion flow chart

Methods What are the risk factors of parental depression identified in this study? How was parental depression defined in this study? What are the pros and cons of using this definition? What is Huber-White sandwich estimates of variance? Was its use appropriate?

Very preterm (≤31weeks) (n=2 194) Moderately preterm (32-36 weeks) (n=14 739) N (%)OR 95% CI N (%)OR 95% CI Model 1Model 2 Model 1Model 2 Paternal depression No depression2 076 (0.6) (4.0) 1.00 New depression63 (0.9) 1.43 ( ) 1.38 ( ) 337 (4.8) 1.16 ( ) 1.12 ( ) Recurrent depression 55 (0.7) 1.20 ( ) 1.14 ( ) 339 (4.4) 1.09 ( ) 1.05 ( ) Maternal depression No depression1 982 (0.6) (3.9) 1.00 New depression103 (0.9) 1.51 ( ) 1.23 ( ) 598 (5.4) 1.34 ( ) 1.34 ( ) Recurrent depression 109 (0.7)1.19 ( ) 1.11 ( ) 891 (5.9)1.47 ( ) 1.42 ( ) Model 1: adjusted for calendar year of birth, maternal age, parity, paternal education and paternal age (≥45). Model 2: adjusted for variables in Model 1, smoking, BMI, and also chronological order of parental depression. Table 2. Paternal and maternal depression and risks of very (≤31weeks) and moderately (32-36 weeks) preterm birth (N= )

Very pretermModerately preterm Spontaneous (n=1 311)Medically indicated (n=823)Spontaneous (n=10804) Medically indicated (n=3 818) OR 95% CI Model 1Model 2 Model 1Model 2Model 1Model 2Model 1Model 2 Paternal depression No depression1.00 New depression 1.26 ( ) 1.09 ( ) 1.69 ( ) 1.76 ( ) 1.12 ( ) 1.09 ( ) 1.31 ( ) 1.26 ( ) Recurrent depression 1.26 ( ) 1.22 ( ) 1.12 ( ) 1.00 ( ) 1.08 ( ) 1.07 ( ) 1.11 ( ) 1.02 ( ) Maternal depression No depression 1.00 New depression 1.54 ( ) 1.25 ( ) 1.48 ( ) 1.22 ( ) 1.20 ( ) 1.20 ( ) 1.71 ( ) 1.70 ( ) Recurrent depression 1.15 ( ) 1.06 ( ) 1.22 ( ) 1.17 ( ) 1.42 ( ) 1.38 ( ) 1.60 ( ) 1.51 ( ) Table 3. Newly occurred paternal/maternal depression and risks of spontaneous/medically indicated very (≤31 weeks) preterm birth and moderately (32-36 weeks) preterm birth (N= ). Model 1: adjusted for calendar year of birth, maternal age, parity, paternal education and paternal age (≥45). Model 2: adjusted for variables in Model 1, smoking, BMI, and also chronological order of parental depression.

Results What were the relationships between paternal depression, spontaneous preterm births and medically-indicated preterm births? How was cohabitation of parents related to preterm birth rates? What are the possible mechanisms behind the above associations?

Discussion How do the demographics of the study participants compare to parents you encounter in your usual practice? (See Table 1- 2) How may the results of this study influence your daily practice?

Authors’ conclusions New paternal depression during the year prior to conception or in early pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of very preterm birth. New maternal depression was associated with increased risk for moderately preterm birth. Recurrent maternal depression was associated with moderately preterm birth, while recurrent paternal depression was not associated with preterm birth. Conclusion: New paternal prenatal depression and maternal depression are potential risk factors for preterm birth. Mental health problems in both parents should be addressed in prevention of preterm birth.

Suggested reading Paulson JF, Bazemore SD. Prenatal and postpartum depression in fathers and its association with maternal depression: a meta-analysis. JAMA May 19;303(19): Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network. Critical Appraisal: notes and checklists. Methodology checklist 3: Cohort study. (Last access 15 February

Authors’ Affiliations 1.Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Karolinska Institutet/Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden 2.Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden Disclosure of interest: None declared. Corresponding author: Anders Hjern